This is the first article in my series exploring the differences between Bullshido and traditional karate. I will examine what truly defines authentic karate practice and how it contrasts with the often-deceptive techniques promoted by bullshido practitioners.
Understanding the Term Bullshido
The word bullshido combines “bullshit” and “bushido”, the old Japanese code of conduct for samurai. It became a term used to criticize fake, dishonest, or unrealistic martial arts. The idea spread through the early internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when practitioners started using online forums to expose fraudulent teachers and martial arts schools.
At its core, bullshido means training or teaching that looks martial but is disconnected from any real ability to defend oneself. It is not aimed at specific styles but rather at behavior – false rank claims, empty forms, no-contact sparring, or selling belts for money. In short, it refers to martial arts that have lost their link to reality.
What Bullshido Criticizes
People use the term bullshido when they see practices that clearly fail under pressure or lack honesty about purpose. Common examples include:
- Instructors with self-granted ranks or invented lineages.
- Schools that guarantee a black belt after a certain period, regardless of skill.
- Dojos with no sparring or resistance, yet claiming street-fighting effectiveness.
- Teachers who claim supernatural powers, such as using “chi” or “ki” to knock opponents down without contact.
- Systems that rely only on theory, not on practical experience.
These problems are not limited to any one martial art. They exist in both Eastern and Western systems, from traditional kung fu and karate to modern self-defense programs.
Bullshido and the Rise of McDojos
The McDojo is a related idea. It describes martial arts schools that prioritize profit over skill. These schools often have high testing fees, monthly/frequently belt promotions, and minimal standards. Students receive new ranks at fixed time intervals instead of demonstrating real improvement. The training is often shallow and based on exaggerated success stories.
How the Bullshido Movement Developed
By the early 2000s, martial artists from boxing, judo, BJJ, MMA, and traditional systems began meeting online to discuss what actually worked in real combat. Videos started showing teachers claiming to knock people down without touching them or beating multiple attackers with unrealistic techniques. When challenged under real resistance, those demonstrations often failed.
This online movement exposed fake techniques, unverified instructors, and systems that promised but couldn’t deliver real combat results, but it also created confusion. Some people began using the term bullshido to criticize traditional systems just because they trained with kata or structured drills.
Misunderstanding Traditional Karate
Many people in modern combat sports misjudge karate because they
